The Queue: Beta testing, tanking, and fries

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky (@adamholisky) will be your host today.

I dig the questions today, let's get down to it.

Zapwidget lamented:

When will people realize that the beta is beta and that the purpose of beta is to test not just for bugs but also player reaction? Why do they assume that things in beta will change if nobody expresses negative opinions? Blizzard is not a psychic entity and is not capable of interpreting silence very well. If they don't hear that people are dissatisfied then they are very unlikely to expend further resources iterating and improving. Beta is not just early access. It's not just a preview of unfinished programming. It's called beta testing, not beta previewing.

And then to complain about people offering opinions about the beta? That goes to show that people will complain about anything.

This is a constant problem that everyone has had with Blizzard betas since WoW got super popular. People go into it expecting a polished game that they can play like they do the released version. Nothing can be further from the truth.

I think Blizzard got it worst when they opened the Mists beta up to the world. That lead to way too many people with way too high expectations. In WoD Blizzard is being much more selective with their invites, although recently they started casting a wide net again. Personally I think this is the root of the problem, and they need to keep the beta pool smaller with people that actually contribute to the testing rather than just complain about everything.

Fraser asked:

So i am trying to learn how to tank in LFR ToT. I have done all the fights as dps and read what i need to do as tank. but one mistake and i get vote kicked or be called a newb. And if i say im a new tank and learning LFR Chat is filled with " vote to kick the dumb tank" So any advice on how to improve as a tank or should i just ignore all the raid chat, or just deal with it, or just stick to being a healer and dps?

I'm sorry this is happening. The sad truth is that a lot of our community has little understanding for new people or people switching roles. This is a BIG problem in general in all of gaming, and it's something that needs to change on a massive level. People learn games, it's better to help someone learn that wants to than to make them feel like crap and encourage them to leave the game. Until "we" get this through our heads, this kind of behavior will keep happening.

That said, there's a few things that you can do. First, ask questions. You're already doing that here, but ask more. Find tanks on Twitter to follow and tweet them a question or two. Ask questions in the forms, on fansites, etc... You're learning and that's the most important thing.

Second, watch YouTube. You can never watch enough YouTube videos. For fights that I tank the first time, I've probably watched a dozen videos on the encounter. Not only do I learn what the encounter is about, I also pick up tanking tactics, which is invaluable.

Third, learn more than just your class. A good tank knows how all the other classes interact with each other and what each class can do to help the raid survive. A good tank isn't afraid to be a leader and speak up and ask for these things. It all starts with knowledge, however.

And finally, but not least, keep at it. Don't get discouraged because a lot of jerks kick you for learning. You'll eventually pick up enough to do a whole run, and then all those mean people will just be a thing of the past.

Jeff asked:

Tater tots vs any other fry variation.

Sweet potato fries or GTFO.
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW Insider crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column. Leave your questions in the comments, and we'll do our best to answer 'em!